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Who is feeding the thousands of Central American migrants in caravan Trump wants to stop?

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Maria Estrada saves her husband Alex's moustache while they bathe in a river with other migrants traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Edwin Enamorado, 35, from Honduras with a family of 6, traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Edwin Enamorado, 35, from Honduras with a family of 6, traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Mexico. Restaurant owners, says they are busy with thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Keila Mejia, 21 with her daughter Samantha Mejia, 2, from Honduras traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Volunteers helps migrants who has blisters from walking along with thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Five-year-old twin sisters Cheili Nayeli Ejia Mesa, on left and Saira Mabel Mejia Mesa from Honduras traveling with her mother in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Saira Mabel Mejia Mesa, 5, from Honduras traveling with her mother in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Esthefany Milla, 5, from Honduras traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Mexican Police keeps an eye on migrants while they rest traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28. 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Migrants feeling water in a coke bottle. The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Gina Garibo, one of the organizer of the Migrant Caravan working on details for tomorow's journey. The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

Portrait of Claudia GarcÃ­a Sorto of El Salvador. The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday. Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Migrant caravan stops to rest in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, on Oct. ...

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.
Nick Oza, for USA TODAY

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

Gina Garibo, one of the organizer of the Migrant Caravan working on details for tomorow's journey. The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.(Photo: Nick Oza, for USA TODAY)

SAN PEDRO TAPANATEPEC, Mexico – Social media has filled with speculation that the caravan of Central American migrants walking to the U.S. is funded by political organizations trying to influence the upcoming U.S. midterm elections one way or another.

Volunteers with the bi-national group Pueblo Sin Fronteras, which has stepped in to help coordinate the caravan after migrants crossed into Mexico from Guatemala, insist there isn’t a political agenda or hidden hand guiding the caravan.

The migrants, many of whom are families traveling with children and babies and fleeing poverty and violence in Central America, are being fed by local residents, church groups and municipal officials in the towns where the caravan stops, coordinators say.

On Sunday, the caravan paused to rest, after a week of walking in oppressive heat through the state of Chiapas and reaching the town of San Pedro Tapanatepec in Oaxaca state.

Throughout the day migrants lined up for plates of tortillas, beans and meat stew dished out by parishioners of the town’s main church, Parroquia San Pedro Apostol. Women who identified themselves as volunteers from the office of the local municipal president distributed bottles of water from the back of a pickup truck as it inched through the streets, drawing crowds of parched migrants.

Later in the day, a long line quickly formed when another pickup truck pulled up in front of the stairs leading to San Pedro Apostol, and women handed out homemade empanandas, fried meat pies.

“We are doing this out of love,” said Imelda Sosa, 55, as she reached into a metal bin filled to the rim with empanadas.

Sosa said the volunteers handing out empanadas had come from El Templo Emanuel, an evangelical Christian church in the neighboring town of Chahuites.

'There is nothing political here'

Coordinators with Pueblo Sin Fronteras say the caravan operates with no hierarchy but rather by consensus.

Each evening, after the sun goes down, and the oppressive heat dissipates, migrants are invited to the center of town to listen to plans put forth by volunteer coordinators.

“They are given a chance to agree or disagree. No decision is made without the input of our collaborators,” Nelly Espinoza, a volunteer with Pueblo Sin Fronteras, said of the migrants traveling with the caravan.

Pueblo Sin Fronteras is responsible for organizing previous caravans, including one last spring that prompted President Donald Trump to order the deployment of National Guard troops to the southern border. That caravan, in turn, inspired the massive caravan now crawling toward the U.S. border, which has inspired yet more caravans in its wake.

Trump has promised to prevent the caravan from entering the U.S. and warned Mexico and other Central American countries that they will lose U.S. funding if they don’t do more to stop the mass of people fleeing those countries and passing through Mexico on the way to the U.S.

Even so, on Sunday, another group of Central American migrants numbering about 800 crashed through a gate on the Guatemala side of an international bridge and were insisting that they be allowed to pass over into Mexico, the Spanish-language television network Univision reported.

The thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a huge caravan toward the U.S. took a day off to rest on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018.(Photo: Nick Oza, for USA TODAY)

Coordinators with the first caravan decided Sunday to rest after a Guatemalan migrant was attacked and beaten by other migrants from El Salvador, who mistook the man for a kidnapper. The beating followed rumors that two hooded men with rifles had tried to kidnap children from the caravan, according to some migrants.

The fight was captured on live television by a Mexican media channel, according to Alfredo Castro, a journalist with Meganoticias in Oaxaca.

The Guatemalan migrant was not seriously injured, and the Salvadoran migrants were arrested by police, coordinators with Pueblo Sin Fronteras said.

The conflict was a sign of rising tensions as migrants grow more exhausted and the disorganization of the caravan becomes increasingly apparent.

At a news conference Sunday, coordinators announced they had decided to call a rest day to help alleviate tensions. Coordinators also announced a “security committee” made up of about 100 “trusted” caravan members had formed to help maintain order, especially when volunteers are serving food. Chaos has accompanied food distribution, as migrants rush to grab plates before food runs out, which invariably happens.

Some also have become frustrated by the caravan’s slow pace and the decision to continue on foot, instead of hopping freight trains, as previously caravans have done.

Still, some migrants said they have confidence in the caravan’s coordinators and are sure they are not pawns to some hidden political agenda.

“There is nothing political here,” said Carlos Alberto Maldonado, a 32-year-old migrant from San Pedro Sula, where the caravan began in Honduras. “They are just trying to help the migrants because they have seen what is happening in our country.”

Migrants playing a card game near a cement stage in the town plaza nodded in agreement.

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The migrant caravan has crossed the border from Chiapas into Oaxaca Mexico and is gathering for the night in the town of Tapanatepec.
Nick Oza, The Republic | azcentral.com

'A lot of gangs and extortion'

Maldonado said he and his wife, 21-year-old Denisa, learned a caravan was forming from television news in Honduras. Maldonado said he and his wife decided to join two days later because they had grown fatigued with the violence and lack of employment in Honduras.

In Honduras, Maldonado said he earned about 300 lempiras a day, or about $12.50, painting houses and installing sheet rock.

In the U.S., he heard he could earn twice that amount in an hour doing the same work.

What's more, in Honduras, "There are a lot of gangs and extortion. The gangs make you pay a portion of your salary, and if you don't they kill you and they kill your family."

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As of Oct. 27, Ernesto Martinez, 27, and his wife Yesenia, 23, have been traveling with their three daughters, including a baby who was just 17 days old when they joined the caravan. Nick Oza/The Republic

Ernesto Martinez, 27, and his wife Yesenia, 23, are traveling with their three daughters, including a baby who was just 17 days old when they joined the caravan last Oct. 20. The family is from San Martin, Retalhuleu, Guatemala. They have pushed the baby in a stroller over 180 miles crossing through the state of Chiapas, before reaching the state of Oaxaca on Oct. 27 Nick Oza/The Republic

Ernesto Martinez, 27, and his wife Yesenia, 23, are traveling with their three daughters, including a baby who was just 17 days old when they joined the caravan on Oct. 20. They have pushed the baby in a stroller over 180 miles crossing through the state of Chiapas, before reaching the state of Oaxaca on Oct. 27, along with their two other daughters, 4-year-old Lynsi, and 6-year-old, Natalie. The baby, Reychel, turned 24 days old on Saturday. The family is from San Martin, Retalhuleu, Guatemala. Nick Oza/The Republic

Thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a caravan reached the state of Oaxaca on Oct. 27, after crossing through the entire state of Chiapas on their way to the U.S. border. Nick Oza/The Republic

Bathing in the river offers a little relief from a day of walking in the oppressive heat for some of the thousands of migrants in the caravan. Thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a caravan reached the state of Oaxaca on Oct. 27, after crossing through the entire state of Chiapas on their way to the U.S. border. Nick Oza/The Republic

Thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a caravan reached the state of Oaxaca on Oct. 27, after crossing through the entire state of Chiapas on their way to the U.S. border. Nick Oza/The Republic

Thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a caravan reached the state of Oaxaca on Oct. 27, after crossing through the entire state of Chiapas on their way to the U.S. border. Nick Oza/The Republic

Thousands of migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries traveling in a caravan reached the state of Oaxaca on Oct. 27, after crossing through the entire state of Chiapas on their way to the U.S. border. Nick Oza/The Republic

Several hundred Central American migrants walking on the road near Ciudad Hidalgo in southern Mexico after crossing the river from Guatemala are loaded onto buses and escorted by Mexican federal police and immigration officers on Oct. 26, 2018. It’s unclear if they were being taken to be deported or processed for asylum. Nick Oza/The Republic

Several hundred Central American migrants walking on the road near Ciudad Hidalgo in southern Mexico after crossing the river from Guatemala are loaded onto buses and escorted by Mexican federal police and immigration officers on Oct. 26, 2018. It’s unclear if they were being taken to be deported or processed for asylum. Nick Oza/The Republic

Several hundred migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala. They wait to cross the Suchiate River that divides Guatemala and Mexico in hopes of heading north to the United States. Under pressure from the United States, Mexico shut a bridge in an effort to halt the migrants, mostly Hondurans, from crossing the border into Mexico. Nick Oza/The Republic

Several hundred migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala. They wait to cross the Suchiate River that divides Guatemala and Mexico in hopes of heading north to the United States. Under pressure from the United States, Mexico shut a bridge in an effort to halt the migrants, mostly Hondurans, from crossing the border into Mexico. Nick Oza/The Republic

Several hundred migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala. They wait to cross the Suchiate River that divides Guatemala and Mexico in hopes of heading north to the United States. Under pressure from the United States, Mexico shut a bridge in an effort to halt the migrants, mostly Hondurans, from crossing the border into Mexico. Nick Oza/The Republic

Penely Suzet Steward, from Honduras, says she wants to go to the U.S. to visit her sick children. Steward is among several hundred migrants from Central America gathered near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala. They wait to cross the Suchiate River that divides Guatemala and Mexico in hopes of heading north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Penely Suzet Steward, from Honduras, says she wants to go to the U.S. to visit her sick children. Steward is among several hundred migrants from Central America gathered near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala. They wait to cross the Suchiate River that divides Guatemala and Mexico in hopes of heading north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Penely Suzet Steward, from Honduras, says she wants to go to the U.S. to visit her sick children. Steward is among several hundred migrants from Central America gathered near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala. They wait to cross the Suchiate River that divides Guatemala and Mexico in hopes of heading north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gather near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 25, 2018, as they wait to cross from Guatemala to Mexico and then head north to the United States. Nick Oza/The Republic

Pedro Castillo, 23 years old, from Honduras, took a raft from Guatemala to cross the Suchiate River to Mexico. Castillo is planning to join the migrant caravan. Mexican immigration officers ask Castillo for his identification. Nick Oza/The Republic

'What little we have we want to share'

Coordinators with Pueblo Sin Fronteras said they inform local officials a day or two before the caravan arrives in a town, giving the officials and residents time to prepare for the arrival of thousands of migrants.

With limited public bathrooms available, migrants are forced to relieve themselves anywhere they can. By Sunday afternoon, the streets lining the town’s center here reeked of urine and feces.

Even so, local residents seemed to welcome the migrants with open arms, with some opening their doors to let them use toilets, and allowing them to sleep on patios.

Carmela Enriquez, 34, whose family operates a small chicken barbecue restaurant a few blocks from the city center, watched Sunday as migrants from the caravan wandered by, looking for a shady spot to rest.

She said she had read on social media that the caravan was to arrive two days before it did. Even so, the town was caught off guard by the size of the caravan.

“I have to say, we were surprised by all the people,” she said.

Enriquez said most people were not upset that thousands of migrants had completely taken over the center of town. She knew many who spent days making bread and other food to pass out to the migrants, even though most residents of the town have little themselves.

The migrants are from other countries, “but we don’t discriminate. What little we have we want to share,” she said."These are not people with the intention to do harm. They are trying to better their lives."

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Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador gathered on Oct. 25, 2018, near a park in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, waiting to cross from Guatemala to Mexico.
Nick Oza, azcentral.com